Regal Albany — Attraction in Albany

I was surprised at how poorly operated this theater is. A sense of dread hit me as soon as I saw the sign and the parking lot. I had driven passed it once but this was my first time to go to this theater to see the new Deadpool movie.

The parking lot had a huge amount of speed bumps. Are people drag racing on this parking lot? With the amount of pot holes I'd say no. But with 3 rows of speed bumps right next to each other twice in the parking lot was odd and strange.

This was a matinee so I expect it to be less attended yet didn't expect most of whoever was working to be taking a break at the same time 3 big guys were out smoking on the side of the building and when we went inside one girl was running concessions and selling tickets in a dark building with the lights off and surprisingly a lot of mess on the floor.

After paying $54 for a popcorn combo and two matinee tickets we had to find the theater the movie was in with no signate insisting where it was being shown so it took us a couple minutes to find it. Once inside it was the traditional rows of old theaters. Not the cinema seating many theaters have these days. Which ok, that's fine I worked in an old theater as a teenager and felt a little nostalgic from it but the smell of piss turned my stomach.

Yes piss, I don't know if someone at a showing earlier or the day before had a kid who pissed their pants or if it was just a combination of stale old curtains on the walls but my first thought was urine when I walked in. I hoped the smell would just get better as we sat down which it wasn't as strong then and we stayed and watched the movie which was hilarious but I will not be coming back to this theater.

With the level of investment many theaters are putting into their operations I was surprised how poorly put together this national chain had at this location. The impression of the staff, facilities and cost of concessions for a matinee showing make me feel I was not getting what I was paying for to see a fun movie at the theater and not at home. I'd rather drive another hour south to Eugene to go to a nicer theater or find somewhere else the next time I want to take my wife on a date to the movies.

Modernize this theater, it's worth the investment as more people will come, and once you do I'll consider...

If you have a choice, go to another theater! I rated it a 2 for the convenience and they do get a pretty good selection of movies. However, their staffing is horrible and their cost cutting is ridiculous! The staff is not trained and they save money by keeping the facility at refrigerator temp. My latest experience - the worst, but certainly not out of what I consider their 'norm' - was to wait for 15 minutes in the combo "buy a ticket/buy a concession" line (another cost cutting measure) with ZERO acknowledgement that we were even there. The patron ahead of me asked if she was in an active station; I asked if we were invisible. There were four employees behind the counter; none of whom had any sense of customer service as they chatted and left for short periods of time to other places in the theater - maybe to fetch popcorn, etc. - while patrons simply waited in line. This will be my last visit unless left with no...

Update: Stars falling off for Albany Regal, from 4 to two.. As a busy, working adult going to a movie is a wonderful way to unwind once in a while. But, it takes some planning to get the other busy folks in my life coordinated so we can go together vs me going alone. It requires contacting the person(s) the day before, figuring out a show time that works for everyone. That done we get to the theater the next day anticipating a fun time only to find that from the day before to today they've changed the movie time. The movie has started but they'd love to sell you a ticket (no thank you), you've only missed half an hour, or they have changed thier hours and they're just plain closed. So... Call me a slow learner but this has happened to me 4 times (wow, embarrassing to admit) so no more movies for me at Albany Regal. There's no way to plan to do it the day before without risking it getting screwed up by...